


Spirit and Such

by somnivagrantTraviatus



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Alternate Universe - Transcendence (Gravity Falls), Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-15
Updated: 2018-07-28
Packaged: 2019-02-02 21:21:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 14,917
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12734541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/somnivagrantTraviatus/pseuds/somnivagrantTraviatus
Summary: Delina Willes was born with a power she couldn't control. Luckily for her, a certain demon-turned-conman is willing to act as her teacher. Unluckily for her, drawing Alcor's eye isn't the safest thing in the world. Which one's worse: the frying pan, or the fire?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to the TAU Discord server for the great additions and A+ commentary. This is for you, guys.

When Delina Willes was born, every banishment sigil in town exploded.

In the hospital, no one paid much attention to the sigils. After all, the infant was in critical condition; every hand, flipper, and limb that could be spared was focused on replacing her heart and keeping her blood moving. It wasn’t until weeks later that a nurse happened to notice that the circle of black tourmaline embedded in the floor had cracked.

Similar stories happened everywhere in Fairview. A woman dropped a set of glass wind chimes, convinced she was imagining the way they seemed to heat and wriggle in her hands. A child’s MagiCore shut down unexpectedly and wouldn’t turn on again. And in one house, a silver cross melted and dripped, slowly, onto the pages of an open birth record.

~~~

“But Mooooom!” Delina Willes, age eleven and three-quarters, stamped a foot. “Mags's guard lets _them_ play soccer!”

“Mags's guardian doesn’t have to worry about their kid setting off the fire alarms if the other team steals the ball,” Rasia Willes replied, unimpressed. She crossed her arms and nodded at the floor.

Delina’s eyes went wide. The sparks flickering underneath her foot grew a little brighter, and she shrieked, stumbling backwards.

“What? Who’s there?!” Delina’s madi burst through the door, eyes darting around the kitchen. 

Rasia sighed. “Just Delina again. Can you take care of it? I need to get to work.”

Briony’s shoulders slumped, but she nodded. As Rasia brushed past her, she grabbed the nearest fire extinguisher out of its box and dropped it on her daughter’s foot, the green flames sputtering out as soon as they met the compressed gas.

The house seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

“Sorry.” Delina prodded the extinguisher’s ruptured membrane with a toe, staring at the new char marks on the kitchen tile. “I didn’t mean to.”

“Oh, hon. I know you didn’t.” Briony swept her into a hug. “ _We_ know you didn’t. But it’s hard for us, knowing that anything could… put you in danger.” She sighed. “We’re just trying to keep you safe. You know that, right?”

Delina swallowed. “Uh-huh.”

Briony gave her one last pat on the back, then straightened, smiling. “C’mon. Let’s get you to class, huh? Wouldn’t want you to miss it this week.”

“Okay.”

~~~

Several rocks tempted Delina as she left the theater, but she didn’t kick them. Instead, she picked each one up, storing them in her hoodie pocket as the pile got too large for her hands. They clinked against each other as she navigated the crumbling concrete steps behind the building and pushed heavily against her stomach when she crawled through the unkempt brush, the dull pain a comfort as it always was on blaze days. When she reached the dead grass that bordered her special clearing, it was almost a disappointment to stand up and shift the rocks’ weight.

That was alright, though. This clearing was for other things.

She drew out her first rock – gray, and about the size of her fist – and hefted it gently in her hand.

Her eyes slid closed. _She’d missed a cue today. The song had started while she wasn’t paying attention, and then she’d forgotten the lyrics, and Jake was out, so he couldn’t prompt her like he normally did. If she hadn’t been so stupid – !_

She hurled the rock. It dented the ground on impact, the scattered dirt extinguishing the flames.

Without opening her eyes, she reached for another one.

_Everyone had laughed at her, even Mags. Mags never missed their cues. They probably thought she was too dumb to remember the words. Of course they wouldn’t want to be friends with someone like her –_

She threw the second rock. Like the first, it became an emerald fireball when it left her hand, and extinguished on impact.

_They had other friends, friends they’d rather talk to. It was probably easy for them to make friends at soccer –_

Another rock, another little crater.

_Friends they could talk to about homework – about classes – friends they could see at school –_

Three in quick succession. Both of her arms were on fire now, but the ache in her biceps was the only pain she felt.

_She’d never be able to go to school. She couldn’t._

The last rock lingered in her hand. The flames on her arms shivered, as if blown by some unfelt wind.

“Man. That’s some arm you’ve got.”

She whirled, heart in her throat. “W-who –”

“Am I?” The man in the grey suit grinned and sketched a neat bow. “Sam Pines, world’s greatest psychic, at your service. I do exorcisms, preincarnation screenings, and birthday parties. Also, magic tricks!”

He flung a hand to the side. When nothing happened, he frowned, then shook it until a business card fell out of his sleeve and onto the dirt. He coughed self-consciously and picked it up. “I meant to do that. Here.”

Delina cautiously took it. The card was black, with bent corners and jagged blue writing proclaiming that SAM PINES, YES, of THAT PINES FAMILY, was the GREATEST PSYCHIC OF THE 35TH CENTURY. “But… it’s the 36th century.”

“Really?”

“Uh-huh.”

He sighed morosely. “And just like that, all these business cards are out of date.” He produced another business card, and, with the tap of a finger, set it aflame.

Delina gaped. “Y-you can make fire?”

“What, you can’t?” He winked at her. “I did say I did parties. I’m very in demand when it comes to lighting the candles.”

“You can… control it?” She swallowed, mesmerized by the flickering light as the card burned. “How?”

“Ah, well, it takes a very special education. You see, I spent many years in the remote mountains of Moria, learning the mystical art of _umzin_ from the local _groys-feter_ –“

“Could you…” She trailed off, suddenly nervous, until her eyes fell on the dimpled ground. Smoke still rose from the last rock she’d thrown. The wispy curls looked just like the gas from the fire extinguisher, wafting up from the latest singe mark on the floor. Her fist clenched. “Teach me.”

Sam tilted his head, eyes bright. “Well, now. That’s a little demanding, don’t you think? Not even a ‘please’.” He tutted. “What would I get in return?”

She swallowed, suddenly, uncomfortably aware that the man in front of her was a stranger. The air against her skin was weirdly charged. “I…”

His smile softened, and just like that, the pressure was gone. “Just kidding. Of course I’ll teach you, starlet. You just need to promise me one thing in exchange.”

“Okay. What is it?”

He winced. “Don’t ever agree to something before you’ve heard it, kid. Bad practice.” When she nodded, he continued, “I want you to promise me that you’ll ask for help when you need it.”

“That’s it?”

“Well, and that you’ll keep that business card on you at all times. Never know when you’ll need the assistance of the thirty-eighth century’s premiere psychic, right?”

Delina wrinkled her nose at him. “You’re weird.”

“Yeah… I get that a lot. It kinda comes with the territory.” He held out a hand. “Do we have a deal?”

She took it. “We’ve got a deal.”


	2. Chapter 2

“I want you to set this on fire.”

“Huh? But –”

“Which one of us is the teacher here?” Sam flapped the sheaf of papers at her. “If you want to learn how to control your fire, you’ve got to learn how you make it, and the only way to do that is to do it. So… just – do it!”

Delina stared blankly at him. He sighed. “Sorry, old joke. But seriously though. Let’s get some sparks going!”

“But…” She swallowed, looking around at all the posters (each featuring Sam in a series of strange poses and stranger outfits) on the walls. “What about your office?”

“Don’t worry about it.” He leaned back in his chair and put his feet up on the desk. “World’s greatest psychic, remember? If anything gets out of control, I’ll put it out in a flash.”

Delina gripped her arm, thinking of charred kitchen tiles. It had been a week since her last blaze day, but her parents’ upset faces were still fresh in her mind. If they had only been sad or angry, that would have been bad enough, but she could tell there was more than that; things like shame, and worry, and fear…

“Unless you can’t do it, that is,” Sam yawned. “I mean, I thought I saw potential in you back at that clearing, but if that was just a fluke… Well, it’d be nice to take a nap, instead of wasting my time with someone who can’t even make a spark.”

Fury ignited in her, and she slapped the papers out of his hands. “I can _too_ , you _**jerk!**_ ”

His eyes darted down, too quick for her to catch, and then he was smiling that same, smug smile again. “Oh, really? Then show me.”

She gave a wordless shout of frustration, oblivious to the rising heat. “I don’t know _how!_ That’s why I’m asking _you!_ ”

The room exploded.

Sam pulled himself up from the floor, eyebrowless, and took a look around. He whistled. “Now that’s what I call going above and beyond. Guess I won’t have to worry about those MiCor fics anymore.”

Delina panted, arms trembling at her sides. “N-now what?”

“Now, you put it out.”

“I thought… you were going to do that.”

“What gave you that idea?”

“You said –” The emerald flames licking at the bookshelves grew a little brighter, and she cut herself off with a squeak of terror.

“I said I’d put it out, _if_ it got out of control,” he corrected, smacking away an ember on his shirt. “Until then, it’s all on you.”

She trembled, breaths coming faster. “I can’t –”

“You can.” He took her hand. “I know you can do it. And if you can’t, I’m here.”

“Right. Okay.” She laughed, only a little hysterical. “I can… do this?”

“You can do this. I promise.”

He squeezed her hand. She squeezed back, tighter, and closed her eyes.

She just had to put out the fire, right? Like… like a fire extinguisher. 

She pictured one, starting with the squishy membrane that made up the outside like the rubber of a water balloon. It would have to be a big one to put out the entire room. And inside it… a bunch of snow, gas compressed and cooled enough to form fluffy drifts.

The air was starting to feel cooler on her skin, but she couldn’t open her eyes yet, not without figuring out how to break the membrane. Usually the shock of hitting the ground was what did it, but this one was too big for that. Maybe she could break it somehow?

“Have you ever cracked an egg?”

She shook her head.

Hands took her own and guided them. “First, you tap it against the side to crack the shell. Then you pull it apart, so you can free what’s inside…”

As he spoke, she visualized the egg, cracking apart in her hands and smothering the flames in snow. _It would feel like winter_ , she thought, _with all those snowflakes falling down…_

A cool wind brushed her cheeks. When she opened her eyes, the office was completely clean.

She stared in wonder. The tacky posters were whole and unharmed. The walls were dingy with unknown grime, but no more so than they’d been when she’d arrived that afternoon, and even the drooping plant in the corner was just as green as it had started.

Sam plopped down in the desk chair, which was now upright, and smirked. “Told you so.”

“But… there aren’t even any marks.” Delina flexed her fingers. “Was that you? Did you… limit my power somehow, so I wouldn’t hurt the room?”

“Ah, yes. That is exactly what I did. Very bright of you, to pick up on that.” Sam coughed and straightened one of his pens. “Of course, I won’t always be there to, ah, do that. You need to be able to control your fire by yourself.”

“And then I can stop burning stuff, right?”

“On accident, at least. But yes.”

She nodded, eyes blazing. “I want to learn.”

“Great!” He grabbed another sheaf of papers off the desk and held it out to her. “Do it again. But… maybe a little smaller this time.”

~~~

They’d been practicing for 45 minutes or so when Delina started getting woozy. “Oookay, that’s about enough for today,” Sam said, and guided her to the couch.

“But I don’t want to stop yet,” she protested, struggling to stand. “There’s still so much to do –”

“Kid, you’re about one spark away from passing out. The only thing you should be doing right now is eating a good meal.”

Delina shot upwards, only for her knees to give out and plop her back on the couch again. Her eyes darted back and forth under her eyelids as she dug through the mental folders of her cell phone.

Sam swallowed. “Hey, you okay? What’s gotten into you all of a sudden?”

 _1 new message from: Mom._ It wasn’t a surprise, but she still winced. “I missed lunch.”

Sam frowned sympathetically. “Oof. Guess we’d better get you back, then.”

His office wasn’t far from her address, so, luckily, the walk was quick. Sam knocked on the door before she could step onto the user recognition tile.

When the door opened, he swept into a deep bow. “My _deepest_ apologies for your daughter’s tardiness, Ms. Willes. I can assure you, she was safely under my supervision and at utterly no risk of harm whatsoever.”

“Right,” Rasia replied, unimpressed. She looked him over, taking in today’s gray suit and midnight blue, star-sprinkled tie. “And who might you be?”

He handed her a business card. “Sam Pines, world’s greatest psychic, at your service, ma’am.”

“Pines, huh?” She tapped the card twice. “And just how, if I may ask, are you related to the illustrious Pineses?”

“It’s a long story,” he sighed, rocking back on his heels. “To put it simply… let’s see… You know Dipper Pines?”

“Of course.”

“Well, his mother is my sister’s daughter’s niece’s cousin’s great-grandson’s great-aunt’s mother’s –”

“I get the picture,” she sighed.

“– grandmother’s mother.” He grinned. “Which, of course, makes me his nephew’s daughter’s aunt’s –”

“Alright, alright! I get it.” Rasia rubbed her temples. “My fault for asking, I suppose. What were you doing with my daughter?”

“He’s teaching me to control the fire, Mom.” Delina stumbled out from behind Sam’s legs and thunked into her mother’s side. “Please don’t be angry with him. It’s my fault I got back so late, I lost track of time…”

Rasia’s brow furrowed, even as she reached down to card her fingers through her daughter’s hair. “Is this true?” she asked Sam.

“The training? Absolutely. And may I just say, no one in the world would make a better teacher for your daughter.” He winked at her. “She made the right choice in asking me.”

Rasia’s hand stilled. “Delina, did you pester this man into giving you lessons?”

Delina winced. Sam tried to backpedal, arms flailing in his haste, but all that accomplished was sending a small object flying from his sleeve. Together, student, mother, and mentor watched as an ancient, pre-Transcendence lighter arced, end over end, into the grass.

Slowly, Rasia raised one perfect, manicured eyebrow.

“I, uh – Tada?” Sam laughed, waggling his fingers half-heartedly before folding them firmly into his pockets. “But, um, as for Delina – I’d actually been scoping her out for a while before she asked! So you see, she didn’t –”

“I’m sorry,” Rasia interrupted, voice deathly cold, “but did you just say you’ve been _watching my daughter?_ ”

Sam swallowed. “You know, in retrospect, that sounds really creepy. But –”

“Get out.”

“But –”

“Get out!”

“Okay, okay! There’s no need to shout, jeez.” He backed away, and, locking eyes with Delina, brought one hand to the side of his face in some strange signal.

She blinked hazily at him. Was he mouthing something to her, or just making weird shapes with his face?

By the time her eyelids dragged themselves open again, he was gone.


	3. Chapter 3

Delina’s appetite kept her just awake enough to finish lunch – three jam sandwiches and the last of yesterday’s leftover rice – before she passed out, but neither her mother nor her madi could rouse her for dinner. Instead, she woke to morning sunlight and the sizzle of melting butter.

“Pancakes?” she asked, peeking into the kitchen.

“Pancakes,” Briony grinned. Whispering conspiratorially, she added, “Your momma says I shouldn’t be encouraging you to go off with strangers, but the way I see it, you had an exhausting day and need something to put some pep in your step.”

Rasia groaned. “I heard that.”

“Love you, dear.” When Delina giggled, Briony winked at her. “Grab a plate; I’ll load you up.”

While Delina carefully slathered her first pancake in butter, Rasia cleared her throat. “Delina, are you feeling better today?”

“Mm-hmm. I’m kind of hungry, though.”

“Then you’d better have another pancake.” Briony slid another on top of Delina’s stack, prompting a glare from her daughter.

“You got butter on the bottom!”

“Wouldn’t it be there anyway?”

Delina frowned. “I wasn’t done with the first one yet.”

“Well, hey, if you don’t want it…”

“No!” she yelped, hunching over it protectively. “My pancake!”

“If you say so,” Briony answered, grinning like a shark. One of her hands crept, ever so slowly, to the side of Delina’s plate.

“Alright, sunshine, that’s enough of that.” Both Delina and Briony jumped guiltily as Rasia pushed her chair back and stood, a smile tugging at her lips. She put her coffee mug in the dishwasher, then lay a hand on her wife’s shoulder. “I’m going to head to work. Remember what we talked about, alright?” With that said, and her customary kiss on the cheek planted, she swept out, leaving Briony smiling dazedly in her wake.

Capitalizing on the lack of maternal supervision, Delina picked up the top pancake and bit into it like a taco. “Mpho mwaddayoo tabbout?”

“Swallow first,” Briony reprimanded, flicking an errant auburn curl.

“Phorry.” She swallowed and put the pancake down. “What’d you talk about?”

Briony sighed. “We were thinking, uh… maybe you’d like the day off today.”

Delina’s heart sank. “What do you mean?”

“Well, with how tired you were yesterday, and, um, the whole ‘possibly-having-a-stalker’ thing, your mom and I thought it might be better if… y’know. You took the day off from theater.”

“I– you can’t!” Delina took a step back, hands trembling. “They need me at rehearsal – the show’s only in a few weeks, and I keep forgetting lines. I need the practice! And they’d all be so mad if I was the reason they couldn’t perform… They already hate me enough.”

“They hate you?”

“Well, they don’t talk to me!” Her chest pounded. She made an effort to breathe more deeply, to try and get herself a little more under control, but the burning in her eyes didn’t go away. “They’re always talking about sports or school or something, and I can’t talk about _any_ of that stuff. I’m just the weird kid that doesn’t do anything.”

“Oh, honey…” Briony’s voice trembled. “I know having to stay home is hard for you. But –”

Rage flashed red behind her eyes. “But you _still_ won't let me _do_ anything!”

Heat bloomed around Delina’s fists, the flames rising on her arms just like the fear on her madi’s face. Briony swallowed and backed up against the stove. “I know.” Her shaking arm reached for the box on top of the hood, groping for one of the spheres inside. “I know how this must feel for you, but I promise, Lina, we’re just trying to keep you safe.”

Briony stretched harder, sending the butter knife clattering to the floor as her hand closed around a fire extinguisher at last. Delina’s flames jumped at the sound. 

“We’re just trying to help you,” Briony said.

Delina looked at her. At the wideness of her eyes, the sprawl of her across the countertop, the sheen of sweat across her forehead. “No,” she said. “I think you’re mostly just scared.”

And something in her thrilled at that, but she smothered it, focusing instead on snow and eggs and cold until there weren’t any green flickers in the metal of the stove.

Briony swallowed, her fingers relaxing from their deathgrip on the extinguisher. She set it down on the counter. “You put it out by yourself this time.”

“Uh-huh.” Delina tried to smile, but her face wouldn’t cooperate all the way. “Sam taught me.”

“Did he?” She took a step forward, then another one, until she could crouch and meet her daughter’s eyes. “What else did the two of you do?”

Delina turned away. “That was it. He told me to set a bunch of stuff on fire, then showed me how to put it out.”

“And it… worked?” Briony looked around the kitchen, then laughed. “I guess it did.” She patted Delina on the shoulder. “Good job, kiddo. I always said you were a quick study.”

“Doesn’t stop me from messing up my lines,” Delina muttered, shaking off the hand.

Her madi bit her cheek. “You’re sure he didn’t hurt you?”

She nodded, hope kindling in her chest. “Positive.”

“And he didn’t do anything weird? Or creepy?”

“He’s weird all the time, ma.”

She laughed. “Okay, fair. But you felt safe with him?”

His hands on her own, helping her crack the egg. She nodded. “I trust him.”

Briony pulled herself to her feet, groaning. “Alright, then. I guess I do, too.” She grinned. “Which means…”

“I still get to do theater?”

“You still get to do theater!” She hefted Delina into her arms, grunting at the weight. “Oof. You’re getting too heavy for this.”

She giggled and curled into her madi’s chest. “Sorry.”

“Yeah, you better be sorry! Who said you could grow up, huh?” Briony raspberried at her, drawing more laughter. “You’re not allowed to do that. You’re my baby.”

“Too bad. I’m gonna be all grown up soon, so there!”

“Yeah, maybe.” Briony sighed and set her on her feet. “‘Til then, though, I make the rules. And I say, if you’re going to theater, you need to walk home with a buddy.”

“But ma –!”

“‘But’ nothing. I can try to convince her on the lessons, but your mom will short if I let you get kidnapped.” She crossed her arms. “Either you walk home with an escort, or you don't go to theater. That's my final offer.”

Delina’s shoulders slumped, but she nodded. “Okay.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew. Sorry about the delay on this one, folks; I'm not a punctual writer at the best of times, and after my last update, I crossed an ocean, studied abroad, transferred schools, flew across the country, presented my first paper at a national conference, and began settling in at a new college. It's been real busy over here, let me tell you, so I'm as pleased to post this as you hopefully are to read it.
> 
> Enjoy the chapter. <3

“...I don’t care how, the time is now…”

Delina gulped and picked up her pace. Luckily, she’d managed to keep her madi’s parting lecture to a minimum, but she was still late. If that was the ensemble, she only had five more lines to get onstage before she missed her cue!

“To the forest, to sell the cow…” 

That was Toni, her singing voice creaking with affected age. Next came her friend Sydney –

“To the forest, to get the money…” 

Delina stripped off her coat, threw it on her hook, and tore off to the back room. Where was the props box?

“To the forest, to lift the spell…”

Daven’s lines were faint, but audible, even this far back – evidently, she’d been practicing her projection. Still, the words barely registered as Delina dug through the props. When her fingers touched fabric, she grabbed it and ran.

“To make the potion…”

That was Jake! Only one line to go, now, but she had made it to the stage. All she had to do was put on her… scarf?

“To go to the festival…”

Brooke’s voice bubbled loud and clear as Delina grimaced and threw the scarf over her shoulder. No time to fix it now.

She took a quick breath, tried to muster a smile, and began to skip across the stage. At least these lines were easy to remember.

“To the forest, to grandmother’s house…”

Every head turned towards her. That line had been far too sharp, she realized, and it was especially obvious coming after Brooke’s. Someone snickered, and she flushed red, almost tripping under the attention.

“Ms. Willes,” her teacher rumbled, freezing her at center stage. “Good of you to join us.”

She swallowed. “Uh, s-sorry, sir! I was, um –”

Mr. Sparrow narrowed his eyes at her, and she shut up. He huffed – maybe a laugh, maybe a sigh – and settled back in his chair. “Now that our Riding Hood is here, let’s work on section eleven. It needs it.”

A murmur rose at that, but the cast obediently peeled off to the wings.

“Um, sir?” Delina called over the crowd, fiddling with the ends of the scarf. “Should I…”

He snorted. “Section eleven, Willes. Hop to it.”

“Just go with it,” Kore – the wolf – advised, coming up behind her. “Ready?”

Delina swallowed, but moved to her position, giving him a weak smile. “Ready.”

~~~

“Alright, that’s it for today. Break time.” Mr. Sparrow rapped the ground twice with his walking stick and pulled himself to his feet. Fixing Delina with a piercing stare, he added, “I better see you all bright and early next week. There’s lots to be done before the show.”

“Yes, sir,” the cast chorused, and if Delina’s voice was a little quieter than the others, Olive’s sympathetic smile next to her was the only indication anyone could tell. With a sharp nod, the teacher turned and left the room, stick tapping as he went.

When he was out of sight, Delina breathed a sigh of relief, which turned into a cough when someone slapped her shoulder. 

“He really let you have it, huh?” Mags laughed, dropping to the edge of the stage next to her to the tune of their pianist’s improvisational melody. “The way he was glaring at you, I thought you’d kicked his dog or something!”

She looked up at them, a smile tugging at her cheeks. “Mags! You’re not hanging out with your soccer friends today?”

“Nah, they had a thing.” They grinned at her, winking, and threw an arm around her shoulders. “‘Sides, after a performance like that, I figure I should check up on you. You forgot more lines than Ellen!”

“Hey, I resemble that remark,” someone called from the back room. Someone else responded, too faintly to be heard, and then there was laughter, ringing loud against the close-set walls. Delina looked away. “Yeah, well… It’s been a rough day, I guess.”

“You too, huh?” Jake came to a stop behind her other shoulder. “I thought I’d gotten used to these glasses, but my head’s been aching like crazy all day.”

“Is that why you weren’t here last week?” Delina asked.

He adjusted them, grinning. “Yeah, I had to go to Chester to pick them up. They’re a special prescription.”

Mags flopped backwards with a groan. “Okay, enough about Jake’s special eyes. What’s up with you, Lina?”

“Well…”

“C’mon, Willes, spill it.” Jake took a seat, kicking idly at the side of the stage. “What’s got you down?”

Mags shot him a glance and scooted a little closer to her. “Who do I need to kill?”

She pushed them off with a laugh. “It’s not like that! It’s just… my parents.”

“What about them?”

“Ugh, where do I start?” Delina rested her head against her knee. “So I have this… condition.”

“Is that why you don’t go to school?” Jake asked.

“Yeah,” Mags answered. “Her folks are suuuuper strict about it. They don’t even let her stay over.”

“Yeah, what Mags said,” Delina agreed. “And I _finally_ found someone who can help, and they won’t even let me see him!”

Mags pushed themself upright. “Wait, you found someone? Who?”

“His name’s Sam. I think he’s new in town.”

“Wait, Sam _Pines_?” Jake stared at her. “You mean that guy who goes around telling everyone he’s some kind of psychic? _That_ Sam?”

“Yeah.” She twiddled a hoodie string. “You know him?”

“Ugh, everybody knows that guy,” Mags groaned. “He’s a total fraud. Ariel’s aunt hired him for her cousin’s birthday party last weekend, and when she asked who her preincarnation was, he stared at her for, like, three minutes before saying she used to be the eighth and a half president of the United States!”

“Yeah, I’d believe that.” Jake rolled his eyes. “I heard he gave old Mx. Harwick a palm reading and told them they’d die at seventy-two.”

“Little late on that one,” Mags laughed.

Delina frowned. “That can’t be right.”

Jake shrugged, unphased. “Only passing along what I’ve heard. But you can’t deny the guy is really weird.”

“We could always ask Amy,” Mags suggested.

The music in the background came to a halt. “Ask me what?”

Delina winced. “Sorry. We didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“We were just talking about Sam Pines,” Jake said. “Do you pick up anything from him?”

Brooke frowned at them from beside the piano. “My girlfriend’s Sight isn’t a– a tool you can use to spy on people.”

Amy flicked her on the arm. “I can stand up for myself, babe.” 

Brooke flushed and looked away. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay. I know you didn’t mean it like that.”

Beneath the bench, her seeing-eye dog yawned and settled against his paws.

“So, Sam Pines, huh?” Amy hummed, sliding the lid over the keys. “You know, I’m really not sure? It’s the strangest thing. I don’t sense _anything_ from him, some days, but sometimes I get glimpses, here and there.” She winced. “It’s all staticky, like hearing someone play one of those old electronic songs on an iridisk. My head hurts just thinking about it.”

Brooke gave her a sympathetic smile. “Want to get another painkiller?”

“Yeah, that sounds good. Thanks.” Amy pressed a kiss to her cheek, laughing when she flustered. “Bye, guys,” she called on her way out. “See you next week!”

Delina waved back, while Mags jumped down from the stage. “‘Bout time to head out, myself,” they observed.

“Oh, that reminds me.” She grimaced. “Madi said I could only come to theater today if someone walked me back. Would you guys mind?”

“Sure,” Jake said, sliding to the floor and ignoring Mags’s glare. “Just to your place, right?”

“Yeah.” She hopped down gingerly, inching forward until she could lever herself off and to the ground. “Mags?”

They scoffed. “Aw, you know I’m in, Lina. Walking with you’s never any trouble.”

“...unless you’re hanging out with Ariel and Nimue,” Delina finished for them, trying to ignore the bitter twinge in her chest.

“Can’t be everywhere at once. Hey, maybe I should start charging!” They cackled and grabbed her arm, tugging her toward the doorway. “Don’t worry about this time, though. I’ll give you the special best friend discount.”

Jake followed after them with a chuckle. “You guys do this often?”

“Often enough,” Delina grumped, despite the smile pulling at her cheeks.

They left. The brisk air was a shock after the stale stillness of the theater, but Delina’s hooded sweatshirt and coat kept her warm, and they didn’t linger by the walls like the boys who played Cinderella’s prince and father. Mags and Jake discussed school, Delina chipping in when she found something she could say; mostly, though, she delighted in the joyous, harmless fire of the rippling leaves, and the crunch of her steps over dappled shadows.

And then something else crunched, off the side of the path and under a bush. Her steps faltered. Was something there?

Another rustle, this accompanied by a whisper. “Psst, hey.”

Now she really hesitated, weighing the growing distance between her friends’ backs against her equally growing curiosity. She crouched, trying to peer between the bush’s twining branches. “Hello?” she whispered. “Is someone there?”

The leaves quaked, and Sam’s head shot out, startling a shout out of her as she fell backwards. “Why didn’t you call me?” he hissed. “I’ve been waiting all week!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The play Delina's troupe is putting on is Into the Woods. I stole some characters from other people for this chapter, so I'll list them along with their roles here:
> 
> Delina (Red Riding Hood), Mags (the Witch), Jake (the Baker), Ariel and Nimue (Cinderella's Stepsisters), and Mr. Sparrow are all © me.
> 
> Sydney (Jack), Toni (Jack's Mother), and Ellen (Rapunzel) are creations my sister and I share. In their own canon, they're magician detectives who solve magical mysteries, defeat monsters, and argue over who does the dishes. I'm very proud of them.
> 
> Brooke (Cinderella), Hans (Cinderella's Father), Elle (Cinderella's Stepmother), Lance (Cinderella's Prince), Kori (the Wolf), Jack (the Steward), and Amy (the pianist) are gratefully borrowed from my wonderful partner. In their own canon, they pay bills, become friends, and find love while existing as monsters in a world that looks down on nonhumans. To learn more and read their comic, go pester their creator at [thatsnarkyartist.tumblr.com](http://thatsnarkyartist.tumblr.com/). 
> 
> Daven (the Baker's Wife, holo effects technician), Olive (Cinderella's Grandmother, Cinderella's Mother, set design), Thad (Mysterious Man, Narrator), and Percy (Rapunzel's Prince) were created by TinyLittleGremlin on the TAU Discord. This is their home canon.


	5. Chapter 5

“What do you mean?” Delina gasped, struggling to get her breathing under control. “I… what are you–”

Sam dragged himself out of the bush with a huff and sat on his heels, brushing twigs and dirt off today’s azure suit. “I was waiting for you, obviously. Didn't want to risk your mom’s temper again.” He shivered. “I’ve faced down monstrosities that would haunt your nightmares, but I swear, nothing strikes fear into the heart like an angry mother.”

Delina, who had once been caught roasting s'mores in bed, could sympathize. “Okay, that explains why you're out here. But what do you mean, ‘call you’?”

He flapped his arms at her. “You know, call? Like…” His hand made a strange sign, thumb coming up behind his ear and pinky hovering over his mouth – the same gesture he had made the last time she’d seen him. Not that that made understanding it any easier.

When her eyes failed to glow in comprehension, he slumped. “Let me guess. No one uses telephones anymore.”

“Those things?” She gaped at him. “They’re, like, a thousand years old! Weren’t they the size of an _arm_?”

Sam threw his hands up. “They were approximately the same size as the distance from a mouth to an ear! So you could use them to talk to people!”

She wrinkled her nose. “Why would you need to do that? That’s what texting is for.”

Sam spluttered, but any coherent reply was preempted by Mags’s reappearance at the end of the path.

“There you are!” They ruffled a hand through their hair, mussing it even further than the wind had. “Hey, do ya think you could do me a favor and maybe _let me know_ when you disappear?” In a few long strides, they'd come close enough to grab her by the shoulders. “Seriously, Lina, I almost didn’t notice you were gone. Y’know how quickly your parents would kill me if I showed up without you?”

Delina drooped. “Right.”

“Found her?” Jake called, further down the path.

“Yeah,” Mags shouted back. They looked Sam up and down, eyes narrowing. “Her and some other guy. Hey, buddy, do you usually wait around the theater to talk to stray kids?”

“Mags, c’mon,” Delina groaned. “It's not like that.”

“I’m checking up on _my student_.” Sam adjusted a cufflink, glaring right back down at them. “Which, evidently, is something _you_ don’t know how to do. How long does it usually take you to notice that your friend is missing?”

Mags growled.

“Hey, hey! Let’s settle down, guys. All this arguing isn't helping my headache.” Jake rejoined the group, wiping his glasses on his shirt. “How about we go around and introduce ourselves, like normal people? I'll go first: I’m Jake Mallory.”

“Yeah, okay,” Mags said, crossing their arms. “I’m Magnolia Nacalaban.”

Delina snorted. “You used that one last month.”

“Okay, Magnea, then.”

“Three months ago, when you were flirting with that guy at the store.”

“Magsimillian.”

“Last week!”

“Fine, fine,” they laughed. “Guess you'll just have to call me Mags.”

Sam smirked. “Or I could call you by your real name… Magsino.”

Mags paled. Jake’s glasses creaked in his grip, and almost dropped as far as his jaw when he tried to put them back on. Delina stared at Sam, then Mags. “That's your name?”

Mags’s fingers closed around the cross they always wore. “H-how do you know that?”

“Perhaps we haven't been introduced.” He bent in a short, ironic bow. “Sam Pines, world’s greatest psychic. I know _lo҉t͏s of͟ thi͠ng͏s._ ”

Delina shivered. “And, um, I’m Delina Willes. But you all know that, haha.”

Leaves rustled in an icy breeze. Mags stared at Sam, who grinned right back, not breaking their gaze; Jake’s head kept pivoting between Sam and Delina, and Delina shifted from foot to foot, uncomfortable in the near-silence.

“So, uh,” she said. “What now?”

Sam straightened, grin softening when he met her eyes. “Well, I was hoping you'd come back to my office for another lesson. It’s important to train regularly, and I haven't seen you in a week. Have you been practicing at home?”

 _Her madi, sprawled over the stovetop, fear in her eyes. The curl of satisfaction at the back of her mind. The clatter of a knife on singed tile._ She grimaced. “Uh, kind of.”

He nodded. “I thought you might have. We’ll definitely need to work on some things.”

Delina checked her cell. “Okay. My parents get home in about an hour and a half, so I’ve got some time to head over.”

“Great! Let’s do it.”

He turned and left. Delina made to follow him, but Mag’s hand closed around her wrist.

“Seriously?” they hissed. “You’re just _going with him_? Just like that? What happened to listening to your parents?”

Delina tugged her arm out of their grasp. “I need to learn how to deal with this, Mags! If I keep sitting at home doing nothing like they want me to, I’ll never get any better!”

“Okay, maybe, but…” Mags glanced up the path at Sam’s retreating back. “I don’t trust that guy,” they whispered. “What if he does something to you?”

Delina crossed her arms. “So come with me, if you’re so worried.”

“What?”

“Last time I had a lesson, I lost track of time and got home late. If you come with me, you can make sure I get back before my parents do, _and_ keep an eye on Sam.”

Mags crossed their arms. “Fine.”

“Great!” Delina paused. “And, uh, you can come too, Jake. If you want.”

Jake laughed. “Nah, you kids go on ahead. I’ve got some work to do back at my place.”

He waved and headed off down the path, whistling. Mags huffed. “Good riddance." They put their elbows up behind their head. "Now it’s just us. Right, Delina?” 

But Delina had already run off, to catch up with Sam.

Mags stared after them, something curdling in their stomach. She’d caught up with him, now, and was laughing at something he had said.

 _Get away from her, Pines._ Mags glared. _She’s **mine.**_

Sam looked back at them and winked.

Their fists clenched. If it was a fight he wanted, it was a fight he’d get.

And if it came to him versus them… Delina would choose them, any day.

She was the one looking back, now, waving from further into the trees. “C’mon, Mags, hurry up! At this rate, we’ll be done with the lesson before you even get there!”

Yes, she wanted them there. They wouldn’t be replaced. They _refused_.

Schooling their smile into something less acerbic, Mags ran to join them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Two has undergone some minor edits in order to resolve the gaping plot hole of Delina having a cell phone, yet somehow not knowing what a telephone is.
> 
> Sam's azure suit this chapter is a nod to Oculus_Cinders, who commented on Chapter Two that they picture him looking like a "toned down Reverse!Falls Dipper." This universe does love its little ironies.


	6. Chapter 6

The trees seemed to shift around their little group as Sam lead the three of them through the forest. Delina tried to count the twists and turns, mapping them against the route she normally took, but then they would pass a landmark that, by her reckoning, should have been entirely somewhere else and she would have to start over. 

Had the path been this long the first time Sam walked her here? Shivering, she pressed a little closer to him.

“Well, here we are,” Sam announced, fumbling with a ring of clanking metal strips. He scraped one against the doorknob, muttered something, and tried a different one, which slid in, but refused to to turn. The third went in and turned, but the door stuck until he kicked it open, grumbling. “The – ow – office. Make yourselves at home.”

Mags stared as Delina made her way to the sagging couch, taking in the torn posters, paper-littered desk, and peeling, smoke-stained wallpaper. “This is your office? Looks like the apartment a washed-up TV star moves into when he finally hits rock bottom.”

“Yeah, well, you're not so pretty yourself.” Sam rummaged through his desk and came up with an open package of saltines, which he put on the couch next to Delina. “Here. Make sure to snack in between lessons – I don't want you running low on energy again.”

She dangled a cracker between her fingers, grimacing. “Do I have to? These things barely even have any salt.”

“Trust me. Your fire is dangerous.” He met her eyes. “If you're not careful, if you can't give it the energy it needs, it will burn you from the inside out. Understand?”

She nodded, pale. Mags rolled their eyes from where they were sprawled over the back of the couch. “Whoa, drama. Gonna tell her she's got a mysterious destiny next?”

“I’m sorry, _Magsino_ , are you trying to undermine my authority with my student?”

They glared. Delina crossed her arms. “Stop calling them that.”

Behind her, Mags stuck their tongue out. He glared back. “Why should I?”

“If someone doesn't want to be called a name, it's mean and rude to keep using it,” she informed him, eyes narrowed. “Like when people call me my old name instead of Delina.”

Sam blinked, then sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Okay, you've got a point.”

Mags smirked. Sam made a show of turning away. “I was going to start you on meditation, but I have the strangest suspicion you might have difficulty concentrating today. Want to show... your _friend_... what we worked on last time instead?”

The two of them had been sniping at each other all afternoon. It wasn’t difficult to tap into the annoyance prickling under her skin and set her hand alight.

The fire danced in Mags’s eyes, and for a moment, Delina thought they seemed impressed. The moment didn’t last long. “That’s it? Delina, you almost exploded my bedroom the last time we hung out. Is this dinky little thing all he’s got you doing?”

The flame snapped. Gritting her teeth, Delina kept herself from doing the same. “It’s called _control_ , Mags. I’m learning how to _keep_ my flames this small. I don’t want to accidentally explode a bedroom again.”

“Good,” Sam told her. “Again.”

She closed her fist around the flame, snuffing it out, and called it up again. The fire sprung easily to her call.

“Again.”

Mags dropped onto the couch proper with a groan. “Do you two just do this all day?”

Green flared around Delina’s fist. Taking a slow breath, she extinguished it, relaxing her fingers one by one and placing them on the couch. “Can I meditate instead? I think I need to be a little calmer before doing any more of this.”

“Aw, c’mon, Lina! You’re killing me!”

“You’re the one who wanted to come!” she snapped.

“Okay. Have some crackers, then start your deep breathing exercises.” Sam smirked. “Maybe Mags should join you. Looks like they could use some practice regulating their emotions, too.”

Delina glared at him over her mouthful of saltines. He coughed. “I mean. You know. If they want.”

Swallowing, she closed her eyes and settled into a more comfortable position. “They won’t. They’re too busy complaining.”

“W– hey! Am not!” Mags scrambled to copy Delina’s posture. “I can meditate just fine. And I’ll prove it.”

“Suit yourself,” Sam shrugged. “Want some help getting started?”

Delina relaxed. “Please.”

“Okay. You know the drill – just keep an eye on the watch…”

The watch was round and gold, bouncing gently on the end of its chain as Sam pulled it from his pocket and got it swinging. Delina let her eyelids droop, settling, featherlight, into her hollow in the couch, and trailed after the double star on the watch’s lid as it drifted, first forward, then back. 

_Breathe_ , he said.

Her eyes fell closed. She breathed. 

“What the fuck,” Mags said.

“Watch your language.”

They glared. “Make me.” 

Delina’s head thunked into the arm of the couch.

“No, but seriously, what the _fuck_ was that.”

Sam shrugged. “You guys needed some help meditating. So I helped.”

“You call that helping?!”

“It worked, didn’t it?”

“I think I’ve done what I can today,” Delina interrupted. “I’m going home.”

“Already?” Sam looked up. “But we barely started. Are you sure?”

“I’m sure. Sorry we didn’t get to do much, but I’m done. Thank you for the lesson.” She grabbed her coat and left.

Mags caught up with her a few feet away from the front stoop. “Boy, am I glad you came to your senses and left,” they shivered. “That guy gives me the creeps.”

Delina whirled on them. “Does he, Mags? Cause it looks to me like you just don’t like me talking with people who aren’t you!”

They took a step back, eyes wide. “It’s not like that –"

“Really? You’ve been fighting with Sam since you saw him talking with me!” Green flickered at the corners of her eyes. She stopped and took a deep breath, beginning again when she had a better grip on her temper. “You glare at Jake every time the three of us are together, too. Cause it’s perfectly fine for you to have school friends, and soccer friends, and theater friends, but it’s not okay for me to talk to anyone but you.”

Mags swallowed and looked away. “Okay, so maybe I’ve been acting a little jealous lately. But seriously, Lina, that thing he did to ‘help us meditate’ or whatever was super creepy. And did you notice his office didn’t have a single holy symbol? Not a cross, not a star, not even a wind chime. Doesn’t that seem a little weird to you?”

She frowned. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying Sam Pines is up to something suspicious! Why would some stranger want to teach you this stuff unless he got something out of it?”

Delina crossed her arms. “So, what, he’s secretly a demon worshipper out for my soul?”

“I don’t know, maybe!” Mags met her stare, unflinching. “I’ll tell you one thing, though. Whatever he is, he’s no psychic.”

Delina turned around and knocked on the door.

“Delina!” Mags hissed. “What are you doing?!”

The door swung open. Before Sam could say anything, Delina trapped his gaze. “Are you really psychic?”

He stared at her, stunned. She stared unflinchingly back. “...Uh…”

“I knew it,” Mags whispered.

Delina’s head swam. “Why… why are you teaching me? What do you get out of this?”

Sam looked away. The words came slowly, like they were dragged out of him. “You… remind me of someone. Someone I’d do anything for.”

Her vision blurred. She blinked, and the door was closed again, leaving her alone on the front stoop.

It was late, she realized. Her parents would be home soon. She should be back before then.

Slowly, mechanically, she took one step, then another, until she was walking down the path.

“Phew. Good thing we got that sorted out, huh?”

“Go away, Mags,” her mouth said.

“Huh?” They paused. “But you said you needed someone to walk you back. What would your folks say?”

“I don’t care.”

Footsteps beside her. “Hey, Lina… are you okay?”

“Go away, Mags,” she said. “I don’t want to see you anymore.”

Step by step, she walked away, leaving them both alone.


	7. Chapter 7

Delina didn't speak much that night. She didn’t answer when Briony asked how theater had gone, or when Rasia asked if she wanted to help make dinner, or when the both of them asked if she had any plans for tomorrow. She didn't eat much, either, instead pushing her food around her plate before giving up and excusing herself for the night.

Sleep didn’t come easily, and when it did, she dreamed…

_There was an apple tree. And a house, and the grass, and children laughing, and the apple tree. And the man next to her. He held the sun in his hands, and it was ~~blue~~ ~~green~~ blue but nothing burned. _

_And the apples withered and fell and became trees. And the trees sprouted hands, which swung and pointed every direction, and the man was eyes and teeth, and she ran until the forest became a cliff, and then a stinging ocean that wrapped around her and wouldn't let go. She clawed at her chest, scrabbling for air that wouldn’t come – and then everything turned inside out and disappeared._

_There was a sheep behind her._

_“I know,” the star said. “But I couldn’t not do something.”_

_There was a sheep behind her._

_“What am I supposed to do? Give it back?”_

_There was a sheep._

_“Yeah, okay. Go ahead.”_

_There was a sheep._  
_And then she fell._

She woke with a jolt. According to her cell, it was a little after four am… and she had two missed messages from last night.

JAKE:  
Mags told me what happened. Are you okay?

JAKE:  
No pressure, but I thought maybe we could do something for your birthday tomorrow. Let me know if you’re up for it.

Oh. It was her birthday today.

Delina stared at the ceiling. She didn’t feel twelve. Mostly, she just felt… tired. 

That made sense, though. In one night, she’d lost her best friend and her only chance at a normal future.

Her cell pinged.

JAKE:  
Hey, you’re awake! Feeling any better?

Delina hesitated. She could just ignore it… but he’d already seen that she was online. That would be rude.

YOU:  
idk. not really  
what are you doing up?

JAKE:  
Just working on something.  
If you come over today, I can show you.

YOU:  
...i’ll think about it

JAKE:  
Okay. Like I said, let me know.

Energy depleted, she rolled over and went back to sleep.

This time, she didn’t dream.

~~~

Consciousness returned to her in tingles against her scalp, the pleasant buzz of fingers carding through her curls. “Are you awake, _habibti_?”

Delina groaned. The fingers in her hair slowed. “No? I suppose I should leave you to sleep in peace, then…”

She nuzzled back into the retreating hand with a whine, drawing a fond snort as her mother returned to playing with her curls. “Thought so. How are you feeling today?”

Delina hid her face into her pillow.

“Not great, huh.” Rasia sighed. “Want to talk about it?”

“...Mags and I had a fight.”

Her mom’s fingers hitched, then resumed. “You know, I was wondering when that would happen.”

“Really?”

“Mmhm.” Rasia twirled a strand around her finger, stretching the lock out and letting it bounce back. “That child has worried me for the longest time, always taking and taking and refusing to share. I figured it was only a matter of time until they tried to keep you.”

Delina stared up at her, eyes wide. “Why didn't you say something?”

“Would you have believed me?”

Delina was silent. 

“That's just who you are. Always believing the best of people.” Delina’s hands tightened around her comforter as her mom sighed. “You get it from your madi, I think. I'd be lying if I said it didn't worry me, but… I'm proud of how you stand up for the good in others.” She smiled. “It's one thing I love about you.”

“But… what if I’m wrong?”

“Then I’ll have to trust you to keep yourself safe.” Rasia poked her over the heart. “You've always had a firm sense of right and wrong. Use that stubbornness of yours to stick to it.”

Delina ducked her head. “So what do I do now?”

“What do you want to do?”

“I don’t wanna stop talking to Mags,” she answered, after some thought. “They’re my friend. But I’m not some thing they can keep. It’s not fair for them to keep getting angry any time I talk to anyone else.”

“Isn’t that the same thing you’ve been doing to them?”

Delina pushed herself upright, frowning. “You mean, with Ariel and Nimue? That’s totally different!”

“Hm.” Rasia settled back, an amused smile quirking her lip. “If you say so. Have you heard from Mags since the fight?”

She eyed her mom warily. “Not exactly, but Jake messaged me to ask if I was okay. He said Mags told him what happened.”

Rasia’s eyebrows jumped. “Really? I thought you said the two of them didn’t get along.”

“They don’t. Jake doesn’t really seem to notice, but Mags is always glaring at him when we hang out at theater, and they keep making fun of him when he isn’t around.”

Rasia laughed. “Sounds like them.” More levelly, she met Delina’s eyes. “I think you should give them some time to apologize, and maybe do some of that yourself. The two of you are young. You’ve got time to learn, and, from the sounds of it, Mags has been doing some of that already.”

Delina frowned, but made no reply.

“In the meantime,” Rasia suggested, “why don’t you try getting closer with some other friends? Have you spent much time with Jake outside of theater?”

She shook her head. “He did just invite me over for my birthday, though. Do you think I should go?”

Rasia smiled. “I do, but after lunch. Let your madi and I wish you a happy birthday before gallivanting off to celebrate with your friends.” She kissed Delina’s forehead, ignoring the teasing shoves and groans she was met with. “Happy birthday, daughter. May you be well throughout the year.”


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case you didn't already see, I've been taking in-character asks on my tumblr, twixtandshout.tumblr.com. Feel free to drop by and ask Sam, Delina, or anyone else those questions that have been plaguing you!
> 
> Previously answered questions can be found in my "twixt ic" tag (twixtandshout.tumblr.com/tagged/twixt_ic).

She had only planned on spending her birthday moping around the house, but visiting Jake sounded more appealing the more time she spent at lunch. Conversation began innocently enough, with her parents taking turns making fun of each other’s mishaps. Then the two soon started reminiscing about embarrassing moments from Delina’s own childhood, and by the time Briony brought out the baklava and apple bread, the word “scrapbook” hovered over them, thick and expectant like a fog of chicken soup in cold season. Delina made short work of her plate and excused herself as soon as she was able.

“Oh, are you going out to visit Jake?” Rasia smiled. “Here, take some baklava with you. It's polite to bring a gift the first time you visit someone at home, you know.”

“Yes, mom,” Delina groaned, glancing at the doorway. “Can I go now?”

Briony frowned. “So soon? I was thinking we could look through some old photos…”

“Nope!” Delina fled, her parents laughing behind her.

“Remember to be back before dinner!” Rasia called.

“Okay! Bye!” Huddling around the plate, Delina walked, sending off a message as she went.

YOU:  
what’s your address?

JAKE:  
16 River Run!

YOU:  
be there in a few minutes

~~~

The house at 16 River Run was short and brown, with a gorgeous, neatly trimmed garden that made Delina feel shabby, even in her best dress. A stern-faced woman answered the door when she knocked.

“Yes? Who are you?” The woman narrowed her eyes. “I’m warning you, we don't buy anything from the Scouts. And where is your cross?”

Delina blinked. “Uh, I’m not from the Scouts. I'm just here to see Jake.”

“Not without a cross, you aren't! No demon-possessed child is going anywhere near my nephew.” She brandished a broom, hands white-knuckled on its handle. “Now scram!”

“But–”

Footsteps hustled behind the door. “It’s okay! I invited her.”

The broom stayed raised, but her grip on it relaxed. “Yeah? You sure?”

“Of course I am,” Jake said. “She's my friend. You know I know the risks as well as you do.”

The woman snorted. “Yeah, alright.” Her eyes bored through Delina’s skull. “But I’m warning you, devil child…” The broom handle tapped against a metal arch set into the doorframe. “If you try anything, you'll regret it.”

Jake rolled his eyes and pulled Delina past her. “Sorry about that,” he told her. “Aunt Beth’s a little… overprotective.”

Eyes on her back. Delina shivered as she passed through the door.

The kitchen Jake led her to was covered in crosses, coating the walls so thickly she could barely see the color beneath. “You can put that on the table,” he said, nodding at her plate. “Mom will take care of it. Right, Mom?”

A pale woman sat at the table, polishing a high-level protection charm. She looked up when Delina set the plate down across from her, but her eyes were like empty mirrors, like there was no one there at all.

Delina backed away slowly and followed Jake down the hall. “Is she always like that?” she whispered.

Jake glanced back at her. “Yeah, pretty much.”

Her curiosity burned, but she took a breath and let it out. It wasn't her story to know.

The door at the end of the hallway was covered in sigils, some delicately carved, others messily scraped. She thought she might recognize a few – a couple looked like more complex varieties of the protection sigil she’d learned, and one might have been for silence – but she didn’t have time to study them before being waved into the room.

“Go ahead and sit anywhere,” Jake said, picking his way over the book-covered floor. “I’ve already been through all this stuff, so you don’t need to worry about getting anything out of order.”

Delina picked up the top book from the nearest wobbly pile. _Pike County Birth Record, 3300–3350._ The one underneath it was for Green County, 3325 through 3400. “Are these all birth records?”

“Not all of them! But a lot of them, yeah.” He laughed sheepishly. “Must look pretty weird, huh? But I’m not just reading them for fun. Remember that big project I said I was working on?”

“Yeah. You said you’d tell me about it.”

“You bet I will.” He grinned. “Delina, I found an answer to a question that has plagued demonologists for centuries. And I’m using it to find Mizar.”

Her brow furrowed. “What’s a miezar?”

“You don’t –?” He shook his head. “That’s right. I keep forgetting you don’t go to school here. What do you know about Alcor?”

“He’s… a big, scary demon? And he destroyed California.”

Jake sighed and rubbed his forehead. “Okay. I can work with that.” He leaned forward, eyes glinting behind his glasses. “All demons are bad news, but Alcor’s the biggest and scariest. They say he doesn’t even need to be summoned to materialize on the physical plane. There isn’t a circle on Earth that can bind him – he pops them like soap bubbles. And he can shapeshift, so he could be _anyone, anywhere._ ”

Eyes wide, Delina touched a hand to the base of her neck. “Is that why having a cross is so important?”

“Basically,” he shrugged. “It’s not like any holy symbol would be able to stop him, but he’s not likely to walk around with one, either. Better safe than sorry, you know?” He shook his head. “Anyway, I’m getting ahead of myself. Every few decades, Alcor steals away and brainwashes someone he calls Mizar. We don’t know how he finds them or why, but they spend their whole lives enslaved.”

“That’s terrible,” Delina whispered. “Has anyone tried to rescue them?”

Jake bowed his head. “My dad tried to save one, but she’d been under Alcor’s influence for too long. If we could find one before he gets his claws into them, we could save them from him, but no one knows who they are or how to find them until after they’re dead.”

Her heart leapt. “And that’s what you’re working on?”

“Yeah! That Mizar my dad found? He discovered her when he realized that a Mizar’s birth tends to coincide with a burst of demonic energy. It’s all there in his journals!” Jake grinned. “That’s why I’ve been looking through birth records – I’m checking to see if any surges of demonic magic were reported during any of the births. It took me a really long time, but I think I’ve finally got something.”

He walked to his desk, where another birth record lay spread, and held it up. Silver splatters dotted the page. “Twelve years ago today, a wave of demonic energy strong enough to melt a cross rolled through town. Then, out of nowhere, someone strange shows up and gives you exactly what you’ve always wanted. Doesn’t that seem suspicious?”

_“Doesn’t that seem a little weird to you?”_

Delina swallowed. “W-what are you saying?”

“I thought it was pretty obvious.” He met her eyes. “Delina, you’re a Mizar.”


	9. Chapter 9

_“I knew Alcor was strong, but he completely maxed out the reading on my Sight Specs. There’s no way we can defeat him face to face. If we’re going to keep you from ending up like every other Mizar, we need to do something, before he claims you.”_

_“Like what?”_

_“Dad’s journals didn't get that far. I think I have a plan, but it'll take some time to put together.”_

_“How much do we have?”_

_“If he were a more typical demon, I’d say maybe til the next eclipse, or some other conjunction of celestial bodies, but Alcor is completely unpredictable. He could strike anytime from next year to tomorrow.”_

_She swallowed, static dancing at the corners of her eyes. He met her gaze. “I know it’s scary, but you’ve got help. Just come back at midnight, okay? I’ll get as much as I can together and we'll do it then.”_

_“I will save you, Delina. I promise.”_

There was a buzz in the air, against her skin. In the back of her throat, the rustling hedgerows. Gray clouds drifted past a gibbous moon, casting strange shadows on the sidewalk, and she huddled into her hoodie, hair prickling at the inside of the sleeves.

_He could be anything, anywhere._

The wind had too many eyes.

Jake’s street smelled strange in a way it hadn’t that afternoon, like orange fires and green forests. Pine needles? By the time she reached his door, her face was scrunched with the pungence of it.

A hand gripped her wrist before she could knock, and she almost screamed. “Sorry. Just me,” Jake whispered. “Didn’t want you waking anyone up.”

Her legs wobbled, forcing Jake to catch her before she collapsed. “Don’t _do_ that, jeez!”

He grimaced. “I said sorry.” 

She got her feet under her and took a deep breath, flinching again as the air hit her nose. “What’s that smell?”

“Pine and sage. Come on, I’ll show you.”

He squeezed past the hedge, then under a willow tree, slipping through the skirt of leaves like bead curtains. Delina had a harder time pushing past the branches – twigs kept catching in her hair and clothes, dragging her back – but she brushed them off and followed him to the side yard.

There was a swimming pool.

Leaves burned in piles around its base, and if the scent had been strong before, it was nothing compared to now. The smoke was thick enough to cloud the air, thick enough she almost choked on it, but the pool rose like a gravestone from the fog and loomed, unmoving.

Deft fingers slipped something over each of her wrists. Little points pressed against her skin, and Jake was holding up a string, a necklace with a wooden pendant, and when she didn’t resist he looped it around her neck. It sat heavy on her chest.

Words. He said something, his mouth moved, but she couldn’t hear him through the water in her ears. He said it again, slower, and when that brought no recognition he took her hand and led her up the steps, their footfalls crackling with arcane static.

Moonlight glinted off dark water. Her head swam.

“This is holy water,” Jake’s voice said next to her ear. “Recently blessed. Underneath it, there’s a septagram, anchored at all points with black tourmaline and seven varieties of the strongest purification sigils I know. If you make it out of this with Alcor’s influence still attached, I will be very surprised.”

_If you make it out of this._

“All you have to do is stand in the middle of the septagram. I’ll do the rest.”

“This is my best dress,” she whispered, eyes locked on glimmering ripples. “I don’t want to get wet.”

“Really? That’s what you’re worried about?” A harsh sigh. “Delina. Alcor is _dangerous_. The most powerful demon in the world is literally out for your soul. Unless you want to be enslaved, brainwashed, and eaten, you have to do this.”

Her feet moved. Almost unconsciously, she took a step back.

“Are you getting cold feet?” His voice was incredulous. “Delina, ‘Sam Pines’ has been watching you for _weeks_ now. You don’t have much time. We need to do this, now!”

_The most powerful demon_  
_California_  
_That guy gives me the creeps_  
_completely unpredictable_  
_‘Sam Pines’_

_Sam Pines?_

_Why would some stranger want to teach you this stuff?  
Hands on her own, cracking the egg_

_“You’ve always had a firm sense of right and wrong._

_Use that stubbornness of yours to stick to it.”_

_Hands on her own._

_“You… remind me of someone. Someone I’d do anything for.”_

_I trust him._

She shook her head, blinking stinging tears from her eyes. “I don’t want to.”

“What?”

“I don’t want to do this,” she said, and clarity rang from every word. She met his eyes. “I don’t know about Alcor, but I trust Sam Pines. And I’m not doing this.”

Smoke and sparks and embers billowed silently in the lenses of his Sight Specs. Flickering shadows played over his pale, blank face, and _he was blocking the way to the stairs._

“I can’t believe this,” he said. “After everything I’ve done – all the work I put in – you were beyond saving all along?”

She swallowed and took a step back. Back towards the pool.

“No,” he said. “No, I refuse to let him have you. I’m not going to sit back and let him take your soul. Because...” 

He walked forward, and he was smiling, just like he did when she missed a line at practice, just like he did when she waved goodbye after theater, just like he did when he told her about his project. “You’re my friend, Delina.”

His hand closed, gently, around her neck. She wanted to struggle, but she couldn’t move.

“Don’t worry. I’ll make it quicker than my father did.”

Like snapshots, she felt them both tip over. Wind on her face. The slap as she broke the surface. Cold, eerie pressure. Terror.

Then, nothing.

No, not nothing. The fear was there, but distant. Removed. Here, there was only light.

She held it. It glowed brightly in her hands, radiant as one of her flames and just as green.

The flame popped, a spark hitting her nose. That wasn’t right, she realized. It was green, yes, but it was more than that. It was _green_.

That had the weight of something important, but made absolutely no sense.

Something crackled, and she yelped, pulling back her hand. That _hurt_! How _dare_ it–

Her eyes widened. There. That thought – something sparked, in the base of the flame. Something blue, which fed something yellorange. Green.

Oh.

It hadn’t been hers, not to start, but it was hers now. And the cold was seeping in.

_How dare it._

The flame shivered and sank into her hands.

_I didn’t want this. I never asked for this! I spent my whole life paying for this, and just when I thought I had it figured out, everything fell apart again!_

Her palms were hot. Everything was hot. Her heart pulsed in her ears.

_I finally get someone to help me with this, and he’s secretly a DEMON?! And Mags didn’t even care I lost everything! They just expected me to thank them and keep waiting for them to pay attention to me! It’s like I only exist to laugh at their dumb jokes, and I! Keep! Falling for it! I can’t even say I hate them, cause I keep coming back!_

There was something heavy growing in her arms. Heavy and smooth, like a rock. 

Like a boulder.

_And then there’s Jake. He keeps saying we’re friends and he wants me to be safe or whatever, but he just tried to kill me??!!! That’s not how you keep someone safe!! I was looking forward to spending time with my last friend today, you dick, and instead you tell me a demon’s going to enslave and kill me and then try to murder me yourself??? Now I might be dying, ON MY BIRTHDAY, and the only thing I can do is hope I hate you enough to evaporate your pool!?! And I might not even survive that, anyway!!!_

She strained, lifting the boulder over her head, and nearly staggered under a flood of pain. Her heartbeats sounded like one long drone, a continuous thump through every part of her body, redoubling itself with every reverberation. She grit her teeth and pushed past it. Just a little more… !

_I HATE THIS! I don't WANT to die, and I don't WANT to hurt, and I’m SICK and TIRED OF IT and IT’S!! NOT!!! FAIR!!!!!!_

A ragged scream tore itself from her lungs, ripping at her throat. Everything was pain and heat and her arms shook, but she slammed the boulder down with all her might.

There was no cloud of dirt to quench the flame. Only water and vinyl walls, then nothing.

Her chest burned.

She tried to stand, to move at all, but her limbs refused to bear weight. All she accomplished was scraping herself against something in her pocket. 

What was even in there? She managed to fumble it out and squint at it in the moonlight.

_Sam Pines, Greatest Psychic of the 35th Century_

That was right, she'd stuck the card in her hoodie and forgotten about it. Weird that it was still readable, after all that, but maybe the stiff material it was made of was waterproof.

What was it she had promised? She'd ask someone when she needed help?

This probably qualified. But there wasn't anything she could do. She couldn't even concentrate to use her cell. Everything hurt. 

Something warm dripped from her nose. That… probably wasn't great.

Keeping her eyes open took too much effort. With a shuddering breath, she let them fall closed.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're getting close to the end.
> 
> Here's your chapterly reminder that character asks and other bonus content can be found on [my tumblr](http://twixtandshout.tumblr.com/tagged/spirit_and_such/chrono), including a deleted scene from chapter 6. Looking for different perspectives on the events you've read here? Got an idea for what should happen next? My askbox happily awaits you.

_The star was there again._

_His brightness had faded slightly, enough that she could see beyond the glow – not that it helped much. In the fashion of dreams, he was many things: a shining orb, a child, a wisp cradled in black wings, the man in the apple tree._

_And he was Sam. And Sam was him, and had been all along. Or something?_

_She waited for rage to flare, but all her anger had burnt out, leaving her throat coated in ash. Clouds of the stuff billowed when she coughed._

_Pale fingers over her mouth. “Don’t… don’t do that.”_

_Sam looked worn. His suit was rumple and singe more than fabric, and the robin’s-egg of his shirt only served to emphasize the sallow of his skin. “You know, when you promised you’d ask for help? I kinda hoped that meant you’d do it before ending up dead.”_

_She had nothing to say to that._

_He flinched and looked away. “That is, uh, not that you’re… Yeah. No need to worry about it; Uncle Dipper’s got everything under control.” He paused. “And by that I mean I left you with the professionals. Owning your mom’s soul is more than enough for me, thanks.”_

_What._

_“No, wait, I meant your other mom,” he flailed, arms akimbo. “Uh – I mean – Rasia and Briony are both fine, I meant your_ other _other mother… This… isn’t helping, is it.”_

_She shook her head._

_“Yeah, that’s fair,” he sighed. Then he grimaced. “I might…_ owe _you some answers.”_

_Really? He wanted to do this_ now _? Before she could even start recuperating from what she’d had to do, because he wouldn’t trust her from the start?_

_Without the familiar anger to fuel her, she just felt tired. It took far too much energy to meet his eyes._

_“...On second thought, how about I come back later?”_

_That sounded a little more doable. She nodded._

_Sam wiped his brow. “Alright, yeah. I can do that.” Before she could do more than stiffen, he was hugging her around the shoulders. “I wish you wouldn’t scare me so much,” he said into her hair. “Any of you. But I’m glad you’re okay, Little Fighter.”_

_She gave him a minute, then disentangled herself. He laughed damply. “Sorry. I just… yeah.” Brushing off his suit, he took a couple steps back. “I’ll let you sleep. Sweet dreams.”_

_Like a sunrise, he faded, leaving her world a susurrus of silver. The whispering grass and cloying petrichor fit like hand-me-down tranquility, but they brought calmness just the same._

_She let it come._

~~~

The song nestled in her soul before she was awake enough to hear it. Like a wing blanketing a chick, the faint lullaby sheltered her in familiarity, singing a gentle promise of safety and care.

She'd never understood the words. But even now, through missed notes and wavering fermatas, its meaning was clear.

Delina swallowed.

“Hi, Mom.”

A hitched breath, then hands squeezing her own. “Oh, dearest,” Rasia sighed. “How did you get yourself into this?”

“Sorry. I should've listened,” Delina tried to say. “When you said I couldn't go.” But the words stuck in her throat, and she coughed, wincing.

“Stop.” The command was harsh, but the gentle sweep of Rasia’s thumb over the back of her hand broke the sting. “You can apologize for disobeying me and sneaking out when you can speak without injuring yourself further. I am too busy being relieved to be angry with you right now.”

“What your mom said.” Briony yawned, barely visible as she huddled into the blurry shape of Rasia’s side. Delina tried to get a better view, but sitting up proved to be too painful. 

“Want some help with that?”

“Mhmm.”

A shuffle of feet, and then hands on her back and shoulders. Slowly, Briony came into view – rumpled, exhausted, but grinning all the same. “Hi.”

“Hi,” she mouthed, smiling back. Her eyes burned. “Where are we?”

“We’re at the hospital,” Rasia answered. “You've been here for almost twenty-four hours. We got here a little later.”

“The police woke us up at about two AM,” Briony added. “It was a real shock. They said you and your friend got the bad end of a ritual gone wrong?”

Delina hesitated. “Tell you later?”

“Of course.” Rasia shot a glance at Briony, who shrugged. “They did some surgery,” she continued, “most of it on your heart. Whatever happened put a real strain on it, apparently, and your heart has always been a little weak. They recommended regular, light exercise and suggested some medications for you.”

Delina made a face. Briony laughed. “I hear ya. Pills suck, but they're better than being stuck here with a patch.”

“Speaking of which, we were told to call someone when you wake up,” Rasia mused, peering under Delina’s hospital bed. “Where is that button?”

A knock sounded. The adults looked at each other. “Well, that’s convenient,” Briony said. “Come in.”

The swish of the sliding door cut her off halfway through – and her words, in turn, halted the stride of their visitor. “...Ah,” Sam said eloquently, and about-faced. “I'll just be going, then.”

“Oh, no, you don't,” Rasia growled. “You get right back in here, young man, and explain to me exactly what kinds of dangerous things you've been teaching my daughter.”

He backed into the room again, expression somewhere between lost and hysterical. “If you're talking about the statement I gave the police, that was a half-baked lie I fed them in the hope that they would ignore the fact that your daughter was very likely the victim of an ameteur exorcism-turned-murder attempt. You're welcome for that, by the way.”

“You don't mean…” Briony clapped a hand over her mouth. “That nice boy? Jackson did this?”

“Jake,” Rasia corrected her, rubbing at her temples. “Delina’s… friend. Brought in the same time she was, and covered in burns. Oh, _Delina_ … what did you do?”

“What she had to,” Sam said flatly, the manic energy dissipated in an instant. He met Delina’s eyes. “That self-righteous, possessive _brat_ deserves everything he got. Don't beat yourself up for doing what you had to to survive.”

She nodded, bemused. The events of that night – just yesterday? – felt hazy. Had she hurt someone?

“The police might have ruled it self-defense,” Sam was already saying, “but then her secret would be out, and the whole town would be making up their own opinions on the matter. This is for the best, trust me.”

Not that her powers had been what caught Jake’s attention anyway. But her parents were nodding, and it probably wouldn't have helped matters, she guessed.

“So how did he find out?” Briony burst. “We were so careful!”

Sam sighed, slumping. “I think that’s on me, actually,” he said, fiddling with a shirtcuff. He wasn't wearing a jacket, Delina realized, just a rolled-up button down. Maybe that was why he looked so young, and so tired. “I've had, uh, _interactions_ with his family before. He was probably carrying out a grudge. Delina just got involved in the crossfire.”

Rasia narrowed her eyes. “Exactly what sort of _grudge_ results in my daughter getting exorcised?”

“It may surprise you,” Sam said, rocking back on his heels and drawing up to his full height, “but I am not, in fact, a real psychic.”

“Oh, really?” Rasia replied, arching an eyebrow. “I wasn't aware this was news.”

“Oh, ha ha,” he said, rolling his eyes over Delina’s quiet – and Briony’s not-so-quiet – snickers. “I’ll have you know that looking like a _bad_ psychic is something I do very much on purpose, in order to keep the _true_ extent of my powers hidden.”

“And you do an excellent job at it,” Rasia said dryly, at the same time as Briony said, “Who are you, the Dreambender?”

His mouth flapped soundlessly a few times. “Uh,” he said at last. “Yes?”

“Huh.” Briony’s voice was faint. “Y’know, I would've been a lot more excited about this as a teen.”

“Why would you…” Sam trailed off, shaking his head. “Never mind. I do _not_ want to know.”

Rasia laid a shaking arm across Delina’s lap. “If you even think about doing anything to hurt my daughter…”

His eyes flashed gold. The air around them thickened, clinging viscously at Delina’s skin and the inside of her spine, and errant currents tousled Sam’s hair. In words that fell with the surety of time, he said, “I have no intention of harming your daughter. I swear on the soul of my twin star.”

Delina coughed, and his eyes shot to her. Immediately, the strange pressure abated.

“Is she?” Briony asked. “Your twin star, I mean.”

He glanced at her, then went back to watching Delina, eyes soft. “Nah, Mizar’s taking a break from me for a bit. Have you heard of Gliese?”

The three of them shook their heads.

“She never got as big a reputation as her mother did,” he said. “Maybe that's for the best. But she was… important to me.”

“Someone you’d do anything for?” Delina rasped.

He smiled, running a hand through his hair. “Yeah. You could say that.”

Tension she hadn't noticed drained out of her chest, leaving her floppy and warm. As the adults continued talking, words like “schedule” and “supervision” registering as beigeness in the white noise, she allowed herself to slide back under the hospital sheets.

That was odd. She had a lot of unread messages, the most recent of which were from Mags.

No anger, or elation, filled her at the name. Just a mild curiosity about what they said.

MAGS:  
hey uh. im sorry about the other day  
and before that i guess  
ill say more the next time i see u but i was a real dick and im gonna do better. 

MAGS:  
not that u have to see me if u dont want to. i just  
apologizing over cell is shitty and i dont wanna be that guy  
so. if u wanna meet up sometime i can apologize then

MAGS:  
Delina what the fuck. Why are you on the news  
are you okay???

MAGS:  
fuck it, im coming over

MAGS:  
so are a + n  
and some other folks  
hope youre up for a few guests ( ˘ ³°)ﾉ *:･ﾟ✧ 

Outside, heels clacked on tile. Sam stiffened, excused himself, and shimmered out of existence, leaving Rasia and Briony gaping at empty air just as the door slid open. “Delina Willes?” The nurse’s smiling eyes met hers squarely, unfazed by her parents’ haphazard attempts to appear natural. “Are you prepared to have company? There’s a group of…” She glanced over her shoulder, counting. “...Eight teenagers who have come to see you.”

Delina stared.

“If you're not up for the visit, of course, I can tell them you're resting,” the nurse continued, brisk. “But they were very insistent about wanting to see you. Should I show them in?”

It took some time for it to kindle, but happiness caught and sparkled in her soul. And, slowly, Delina smiled.


	11. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We've reached the end. Thanks for reading!

“Are you sure you’ve got everything?”

“I packed everything on the list.”

“You’ve got your toothbrush?”

“Yes, mom.”

“Your heart medication? Your hormones?”

Delina sighed, but ran another mental check of her inventory. The bottles were nestled in the first slot of the medicine section, just like they’d been the last five times Rasia had asked. “Yes, mom.”

“All your clothes? Socks, shirts, underwear?...”

“Mom!” she hissed, ears red. “Can we not do this now?”

“C’mon, Delina, cut your mom some slack.” Sam mussed Delina’s hair, ignoring her protests with an easy grin. “It’s not every day a mother first sees her child off to college, you know! And they grow up so fast...”

Delina turned pleading eyes on her mother, who tutted but obligingly waved Sam off. Then she licked her hand and began smoothing down Delina’s hair again. “Hey!”

“I know, I know. You’re all grown up and don’t need your mother to baby you anymore.” Rasia slid another gravity-defying curl into place, then stepped back, eyes watery. “Oh, _habibti_. You’ve grown so much.”

“...Are you crying?”

“No,” Rasia sniffled, “absolutely not. That is your madi’s job.” She frowned. “Speaking of which, she should have been down here with that camera ages ago. I’d better make sure she hasn’t gotten lost in the attic...”

Delina backed away from the door. “Do we have to?” she begged. “You’ve already got loads of pictures from your cells.”

“Yes, but we can’t put those on the walls or mail them to the _‘aa’ila_. You’ll just have to put up with some extra photos.” Rasia patted her on the shoulder, then walked into the house.

“You literally can, though!” Delina shouted after her.

“Nope, too old, have to embarrass you with physical photographs,” Rasia called back.

Delina swung around and made big eyes at Sam. “Are you _sure_ we can’t just leave?”

He gasped, mock-hurt – though the expression did nothing to hide his amusement. “What, and betray your parents’ confidence? I would never.”

Something big clattered to the floor upstairs, and Delina winced. “I will literally pay you to take me there now.”

“What’s your offer?”

“Free pick of my candy drawer for three days,” she said, and held out a hand.

He grabbed it, grin lighting up with the blue of his flames, and _pulled_. When she recovered from the stumble, she was standing just outside campus.

Noise swamped her, and for a second, she was underwater, drowning in cacophony. But gentle fingers pressed on her shoulder, keeping her grounded, and Sam was there, one eyebrow raised. She took a breath. “I’m fine.”

“Glad to hear it.” He stepped back, resting against the wall. “How are you feeling?”

 _Fine_ was the easy answer, but Sam wanted more than that. Delina sighed, but closed her eyes, seeking out her inner fire.

It was sort of lime-colored, these days. She’d exhausted the demonic magic that fueled her flames in her pool-evaporating burst, and her own power had grown enough to balance it out in the time it took to grow back. But the overextension of her soul had left her emotions distant and hard to reach for several years, and they could still be difficult to recognize. 

So she watched her flames. Orange leapt and twirled around sparkling yellow, while green tongues twined around an ember core of blue. The colors melted and melded together in an ever-shifting dance of hues, creating new shades wherever they touched.

_How are you feeling?_

“It’s complicated,” she said aloud, blinking her eyes open again. “I’m excited to be here, and to do things on my own, but it also kind of feels like… I didn’t really get a choice.”

“You’d rather be cultbusting?”

“Yeah!” Delina leaned forward almost unconsciously, crackle-pop yellow flaring in her chest. “We've been training for years now, but I barely get the chance to use anything I learn! I want to be out there, saving lives and kicking ass, not sitting and reading what they ate for breakfast before the Transcendence or why these two countries fought each other centuries ago.” She looked away, biting her lip. “I want to feel like what I'm doing makes a difference. Like _I'm_ making a difference.” 

“There are safer ways to make a difference than punching out cultists,” Sam pointed out. His fingers tapped, one-two-three-four, against the brick. “And cultbusting isn't the sort of thing you can do part-time. It's not unreasonable for your parents to want to keep that target off your back.”

“I _know_ ,” she groaned, collapsing next to him. “But it feels like there’s _been_ a target on my back since my magic showed up. Madi can use her gift any time she wants, but if I use mine, everyone in a three-state radius will, I dunno, try to burn me at the stake or something.”

Sam snorted, fingers stilling as he turned to look at her. “Making gems glow a little brighter is a lot more subtle than your fire, though. And Briony’s magic isn't demonic.”

“Neither is mine!” Delina crossed her arms protectively over her chest. “I had a gift before you supercharged it, you know. And even if it was… so what?”

“ _So_ , there are a lot of people who’d rather demons not exist.” His fingers curled into the brick, scraping shallow gouges into the alley wall. Eyes glowing dimly in the shadows, he continued, “People who would do anything to remove the world of their influence. They wouldn’t hesitate to track you down and… dispose of you, if you revealed yourself to them.”

“And they're the same people that would chase me down anyway, so I don't see why I shouldn't have some say in why!”

He blinked. Delina stood her ground, dark eyes fearlessly meeting gold. “It's my life, Sam. I should get a say in what I do with it.”

Red curls. Fire in her eyes. Sam smiled, gold fading to brown, and tried to ignore the ache in his chest. “I'll make you a dea̦̤͎͔͇ḻ, Antares. Keep your grades up, and I'll take you with me one night a week.”

“Two nights a week.”

He snorted. “Don't push your luck, kiddo. We’ll start with one and see how that goes.”

A slow grin curved across her face. “You really mean it?”

“Would I offer if I didn't?”

Before the sentence finished leaving his mouth, Delina had pounced on his hand, grinning at the startled shower of sparks. “No take-backs!” she crowed.

“Of course not! Jeez, who do you take me for?” he grumped, despite the smile pulling at the corners of his lips. This kid.

Something tugged at him – a summons, in Fairview. Well, that had been only a matter of time. But there was something else, something closer… 

_Across campus, a young woman flinched._

_“Are you alright, honey?”_

_She smiled weakly at him. “Fine, Dad. Just… nervous, I guess.”_

_“It’ll be fine, Anders.” The man put a hand on his daughter’s shoulder, squeezing gently._

_She leaned into him with a sigh. “I hope so.”_

_“I know so.” He pulled her closer. “Now… where do you want all this flannel?”_

Alcor’s cheeks hurt when he came back to himself, and his eyes were disturbingly moist. Ignoring her startled squeak, he bundled Delina into a spine-cracking hug, only setting her down when she croaked that she couldn't breathe.

“What was that for?!”

“Do I have to have a reason?” Elation danced under his skin, glee burning gold in his veins, and he laughed, just because he could. His people kept finding each other in the strangest ways.

_(More importantly, she was **back.** She was back.)_

The Fairview summons pulled at him again, and he sighed, flicking away an acid tear from one cheek. It fizzed where it fell. “I should go,” he told Delina, who was watching him with concern. “Can you set up your room by yourself?”

She nodded. “Are you okay?”

He smiled and ruffled her hair. “Never better. Expect a visit from your parents later, yeah?”

“Ugh,” she groaned. “I thought we avoided that.”

Sam laughed. “You know better.” Waving her close, he pressed a kiss to her forehead, renewing the glow of his Mark there. “Don't let your resentment stop you from having fun.”

“I won't.”

“Good.” He smiled at her, eyes soft. Then he pulled a top hat from nowhere, flapped open dark wings, and leapt into the air. “Learn stuff! Make friends! Buy gold! Bye!”

She blinked, and he was gone, the electric hum along her skin the only proof he'd ever been there.

Delina took a breath and squared her shoulders. Setting her gaze to the future, she walked.


End file.
